Police and firefighters found the body of Nathaniel Quarterman, 54, on fire in an alley behind the 4200 block of Shamrock Ave. around 2 a.m. Friday morning. A trail of blood led from Quarterman's body to underneath a balcony on one of the homes in the block.

I agree. A jury of 12 lonely, single, older women who own cats or dogs and who take in rescued gerbils will see the true humanity of Mr. Cloverdale. I just hope he didn't take the dog out to put out the fire in the alley.

It was not clear if Quarterman jumped or was thrown from the balcony, but police later found blood on the balcony and inside Quarterman's bedroom. They charged Laurence Antonio Cloverdale, 43, with first degree murder, and no attorney was listed for him in court records.

When police arrived on the scene, they found Cloverdale and an unidentified witness inside the home and interviewed them. The witness told police Cloverdale and Quarterman had been arguing in Quarterman's bedroom behind a closed door.

After some time, the arguing stopped, and Cloverdale emerged from the room and began attacking the witness, choking and pushing him.

"If you don't shut the [expletive] up, I'll kill you and burn you too," Cloverdale told the witness, according to charging documents.

Cloverdale then went back into the bedroom for several minutes, later emerging to take Quarterman's dog for a walk.

Just getting accepted to Johns Hopkins University was an accomplishment for Jeremy Huber. Getting recruited to play lacrosse for a program that has won nine national championships was another thing entirely.